The Kirkus Prize is one of the richest literary awards in the world, with a prize of $50,000 bestowed annually to authors of fiction, nonfiction and young readers’ literature. It was created to celebrate the 81 years of discerning, thoughtful criticism Kirkus Reviews has contributed to both the publishing industry and readers at large. Books that earned the Kirkus Star with publication dates between November 1, 2014, and October 31, 2015, are automatically nominated for the 2015 Kirkus Prize, and the winners will be selected on October 23, 2015, by an esteemed panel composed of nationally respected writers and highly regarded booksellers, librarians and Kirkus critics.

Love ’em or hate ’em, book series are a fact of genre publishing. The science fiction and fantasy genres are not immune to it—bookstore shelves are filled with titles that are sequels or more inconspicuously labeled as a "something-something" novel. But readerships often dwindle and thus few series stand the test of time.

However, some long-running series are still going strong. This is great news for readers who love to immerse themselves in a world for the long haul. A handful of recent SF/F releases are part of a larger series that have been running for at least 10 years. Here are five:

Cherryh’s Foreigner series follows the career of Bren Cameron, a diplomat and translator to the alien atevi civilization, who place a high value on loyalty. It began in 1994 with the book Foreigner. The latest novel is Intruder, the 13th in the series, which sees Bren in a civil war negotiating for peace with an atevi who has never before seen a human.

Drake's RCN space-adventure series follows its protagonist Lt. Leary, an officer in the Republic of Cinnabar Navy, from one adventure to the next. Drake describes the series as a science fiction version of Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey/Maturin series, which began with Master and Commander. The first book in the RCN series is 1998's With the Lightnings. The newest is book No. 9: The Road of Danger.

[The books in the RCN series include: With the Lightnings; Lt. Leary, Commanding; The Far Side of the Stars; The Way to Glory; Some Golden Harbor; When the Tide Rises; What Distant Deeps; and The Road of Danger.]

Household name King's famous series began in 1982 and combines elements of fantasy, science fantasy, horror and western as it tells the story of Roland, a member of a magical order and a so-called gunslinger, on a quest to find the fabled tower that is said to be the nexus of all universes. The latest novel, The Wind Through the Keyhole(eighth in the series, but chronologically fitting between books four and five), regales readers with more of Roland's back story.

The Wars of Light and Shadow is an epic fantasy series depicting the conflict between two half-brothers, Arithon and Lysaer, who were cursed after defeating the dreaded Mistwraiths. The latest volume, Initiate's Trial, begins with Arithon (now free from the curse) in captivity and Lysaer (still cursed) bent on killing him. It begins a new cycle in the overarching series and, like the books before it, builds up to a spectacular finale.

The historical Count Saint-Germain series is named after its vampire protagonist, who was inspired by Count Saint-Germain, a mysterious 18th-century French man linked to occultism. The first book (Hotel Transylvania) was written in 1978 and the latest (Commedia della Morte, 24th in the series) sees Saint-Germain attempting to rescue his love from execution by France's Revolutionary Tribunal.

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